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Excellence in Literature vs Essentials in Literature


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We will be finishing up Lightning Literature 8th grade this year (technically 7th grade), and I'm not ready to move into Lightning Lit's high school courses yet and am looking for something different for next year.

 

While I am certainly open to suggestions, I keep looking at Excellence in Literature and Essentials in Literature. Essentials feels light to me. Only one novel for the year? My son reads voraciously and sure, I could supplement, but why buy a literature package if you're going to supplement.

 

Excellence has better literature, I think--certainly more novels--but I can't get a feel of the assignments. It looks like a couple of writing assignments and that's it.

 

Can anyone compare these two or give me personal experiences? OR if you have another suggestion I'm overlooking, I'm all ears! Thanks!

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We are using Essentials in Literature 7 this year. Yes, there is only one novel. But there are many short stories and poems and a non fiction unit too I think. We really like it. My DD reads vociferously. She uses EIL for the lit analysis, but reads lots of books just for fun.

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We are doing Essentials in Literature 9 this year. There is one long novel, but there are 6 short stories in fiction unit, non fiction section- either 4 or 6 works (don't remember), and 7 poems in the poetry unit. Most of the answers are short answers, some require few paragraphs. Yes, it is light compared to some other literature programs, but for my science loving, language arts not so loving child it works. He also attends book club every month at the library for which he has to read full books (usually 300+pgs) where they discuss the books that have read so that is another 9-12 a year. Combo of two works.

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I don't have experience with Essentials but we have used and loved Excellence in Literature.  I always pair the first level with Windows to the World for analysis.  They actually work nicely together because even some of the short stories overlap (if I remember correctly).

 

I did look at Windows to the World yesterday, too. You used them both together?

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Excellence in Literature is great but it definitely assumes your student is already proficient at writing literary analysis. There us no writing instruction at all, which is why we usually make sure they've done EE and WttW before we start it. After they know how to write a good analysis paper I just mix and match to assign units based on what period of history we're studying and/or what novels appeal to them at the time.

 

Sent from my Z988 using Tapatalk

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I did look at Windows to the World yesterday, too. You used them both together?

I used windows alongside the first level of EIL, yes. The first section of EIL is short stories and they even overlap some with WttW. With younger dd, I used WttW alongside EIL 1 in 8th grade. We completed the WttW the first semester with a slower pace in EIL and then used EIL exclusively second semester. You could use it anytime in high school. I don’t find either curriculum too taxing to use together. That’s just us though, and we are a strong reading family so maybe it isn’t for everyone.

Edited by Attolia
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I used windows alongside the first level of EIL, yes. The first section of EIL is short stories and they even overlap some with WttW. With younger dd, I used WttW alongside EIL 1 in 8th grade. We completed the WttW the first semester with a slower pace in EIL and then used EIL exclusively second semester. You could use it anytime in high school. I don’t find either curriculum too taxing to use together. That’s just us though, and we are a strong reading family so maybe it isn’t for everyone.

 

We are a reading family, too, and the amount of reading isn't an issue! Thanks for your thoughts.

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Excellence in Literature is great but it definitely assumes your student is already proficient at writing literary analysis. There us no writing instruction at all, which is why we usually make sure they've done EE and WttW before we start it. After they know how to write a good analysis paper I just mix and match to assign units based on what period of history we're studying and/or what novels appeal to them at the time.

 

Sent from my Z988 using Tapatalk

 

Thank you. I don't think ds is proficient at writing literary analysis, so maybe this isn't a good fit at all. I think he's started this but not delved into too deeply yet. Hmm...

 

What is EE? 

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We will be finishing up Lightning Literature 8th grade this year (technically 7th grade), and I'm not ready to move into Lightning Lit's high school courses yet and am looking for something different for next year.

 

No personal experience with any of these lit. programs (other than LL7 and LL8), but from the posts where people describe their experiences with the different programs, I gather that Excellence in Lit. is writing-intensive and has more expectation of student initiative (example: going and looking up the background info on author/times/work), while LL high school provides that background, as well as the literature lesson on a specific topic for each work (like with LL7 and LL8).

 

I have also read, more than once, that the high school LL programs are not much different from/harder than LL8 -- it's just that the high school LL programs cover harder works and do not have the work pages of LL7 and LL8. In other words, it would be less of a steep step to go from LL8 to LL high school, than to go from LL8 to Excellence in Lit.

 

 

...Essentials in Literature. Essentials feels light to me. Only one novel for the year? My son reads voraciously and sure, I could supplement, but why buy a literature package if you're going to supplement...

 

True, BUT...  If you have a voracious reader, who is a middle schooler, and who is fairly new to formal literature/literary analysis, I recommend not killing the love of reading by making ALL the literature about formal lit. studies. A program is great for helping you go deep on a handful of works of different types (novels, short stories, poetry), and then your student can continue to enjoy reading through a pile of good and great works of literature, as well as some historical fiction to go with your History, and some "popcorn" books of personal interest. :)

 

However, I do agree that 1 novel (plus short stories and poetry) for a year-long program, even for middle school, is very light. ;)

 

 

Essentials in Literature... 

...Can anyone compare these two or give me personal experiences?

 

Again, no personal experience, but I did create our own Lit. all through high school for our 2 DSs. And for the past 6 years I've been creating and teaching homeschool co-op Lit. & Comp classes for grades 7-12, and I have to say I am NOT at ALL fond of the Essentials in Lit. selections. :(

 

With all the SUPER works out there -- so many, that it is hard for me to narrow down to just a handful each year -- in my opinion, Essentials in Literature focuses on a lot of lesser-known and "tier 2" works, too much non-fiction, and misses out on the opportunity to explore not only traditional middle school and high school classics, but all of the great Young Adult works that have come out in the last few decades which are SUPER for gently moving a student into deeper discussion and beginning analysis.

 

I especially dislike the grade 8 selections. Not one traditional middle school/early high school classic or high-interest work, and worse, the one novel (more of a short novella length) is Night by Elie Wiesel -- a powerful work, but, good heavens! NOT for middle school! We're talking about the real-life experience of the author and the images and theme of a man's very soul being crushed by the horror of the Holocaust. Yes, cover that work in late high school. But no, not in grade 8, when middle schoolers are not ready for dealing with that kind of intensity, or, because of their inexperience, the impact of the deep horror will roll off of them, and it's a missed opportunity for the work to resonate deeply and meaningfully with them. Not to mention, middle schoolers are not at that level of maturity and experience with literary analysis to have the tools to go deep with that work. 

 

okay, end of rant.  :laugh:

 

 

...OR if you have another suggestion I'm overlooking, I'm all ears! Thanks!

 

If your DS is a voracious reader and enjoys fantasy, this might be the perfect time for Literary Lessons from the Lord of the Rings -- a full-year study of the trilogy that is right at about the same level as LL8.

 

Another "side step" option that is helpful for developing analysis skills is starting by analyzing movies and discussing/writing about them with the program Movies As Literature. Also right about the same level as LL8 in the analysis department.

 

Or, if an online class is of interest, I've heard good things about the Center for Lit. classes. They also offer optional writing sections to go with the lit. The gr. 7-9 class will be covering a wide mix of works -- the spring semester courses are definitely high school level:

fall: Call it Courage; The Bronze Bow; Carry On Mr. Bowditch; A Wrinkle in Time

spring: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight; Great Expectations; Julius Caesar; The Yearling; The Chosen

 

Windows to the World is definitely a step up from LL8, but no greater of a step than Excellence in Literature, and it has a lot more hand-holding than what I see in the samples of Excellence in Literature. WttW teaches annotation; how to use your annotations as support in a literary analysis essay; step-by-step instruction of how to write a literary analysis; and then covers 8-10 of the most frequently used literary elements. The program focuses on just 6 short stories (included) in a 1-semester high school program, but if doing it in 8th grade, you could spread it out over the course of 1 year and do other reading. Or, you could get the Jill Pike syllabus which extends the program for a second semester and also covers the Teaching the Classics program and instruction in covering 3 longer works: Jane Eyre, Hamlet, and To Kill a Mockingbird.

 

Since you are a strong reading family, you might consider doing WttW, spread out over the year, along with Literary Lessons from the Lord of the Rings. Or, DIY, with a stack of free-reading books and choose 6 novels to focus deeply on, using individual lit. guides, like the free Glencoe Literature Library Guides, Penguin Teacher Guides, or the for-a-fee Garlic Press Discovering Literature: challenger level.

 

And, while this would only cover part of your Literature studies, I keep hearing great things about CAP's Art of Poetry, which is both poetry appreciation and beginning analysis. For grades 7-12. It comes with a DVD of lecture material, too. :) This might be the kind of program you could stretch out over 2 years as occasional poetry units, while creating your own Lit. studies.

 

 

Thank you. I don't think ds is proficient at writing literary analysis, so maybe this isn't a good fit at all. I think he's started this but not delved into too deeply yet. Hmm...

 

Windows to the World is a great next step up from LL8, covering both literary analysis and writing (specifically, the literary analysis essay), and it is the clearest step-by-step instruction in how to write a literary analysis essay that I've seen. It is written by Leisha Myers. (She also has two high school writing programs on specific writing topics: The Elegant Essay, and Writing Research Papers: The Essential Tools.)

 

For a student just moving into high school types of writing (which is the level of literary analysis essays), you might look at Sharon Watson's Power in Your Hands (gr. 9-12) -- written to the student, a 1-year program on writing a wide variety of types of writing (research paper, different types of essays, "real life" writing, etc.), and it is gentle enough for a grade 8 student who is already proficient with complete paragraphs and short (3- to 5-paragraph) writing assignments.

Edited by Lori D.
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No personal experience with any of these lit. programs (other than LL7 and LL8), but from the posts where people describe their experiences with the different programs, I gather that Excellence in Lit. is writing-intensive and has more expectation of student initiative (example: going and looking up the background info on author/times/work), while LL high school provides that background, as well as the literature lesson on a specific topic for each work (like with LL7 and LL8).

 

I have also read, more than once, that the high school LL programs are not much different from/harder than LL8 -- it's just that the high school LL programs cover harder works and do not have the work pages of LL7 and LL8. In other words, it would be less of a steep step to go from LL8 to LL high school, than to go from LL8 to Excellence in Lit.

 

 

 

True, BUT...  If you have a voracious reader, who is a middle schooler, and who is fairly new to formal literature/literary analysis, I recommend not killing the love of reading by making ALL the literature about formal lit. studies. A program is great for helping you go deep on a handful of works of different types (novels, short stories, poetry), and then your student can continue to enjoy reading through a pile of good and great works of literature, as well as some historical fiction to go with your History, and some "popcorn" books of personal interest. :)

 

However, I do agree that 1 novel (plus short stories and poetry) for a year-long program, even for middle school, is very light. ;)

 

 

 

Again, no personal experience, but I did create our own Lit. all through high school for our 2 DSs. And for the past 6 years I've been creating and teaching homeschool co-op Lit. & Comp classes for grades 7-12, and I have to say I am NOT at ALL fond of the Essentials in Lit. selections. :(

 

With all the SUPER works out there -- so many, that it is hard for me to narrow down to just a handful each year -- in my opinion, Essentials in Literature focuses on a lot of lesser-known and "tier 2" works, too much non-fiction, and misses out on the opportunity to explore not only traditional middle school and high school classics, but all of the great Young Adult works that have come out in the last few decades which are SUPER for gently moving a student into deeper discussion and beginning analysis.

 

I especially dislike the grade 8 selections. Not one traditional middle school/early high school classic or high-interest work, and worse, the one novel (more of a short novella length) is Night by Elie Wiesel -- a powerful work, but, good heavens! NOT for middle school! We're talking about the real-life experience of the author and the images and theme of a man's very soul being crushed by the horror of the Holocaust. Yes, cover that work in late high school. But no, not in grade 8, when middle schoolers are not ready for dealing with that kind of intensity, or, because of their inexperience, the impact of the deep horror will roll off of them, and it's a missed opportunity for the work to resonate deeply and meaningfully with them. Not to mention, middle schoolers are not at that level of maturity and experience with literary analysis to have the tools to go deep with that work. 

 

okay, end of rant.  :laugh:

 

 

 

If your DS is a voracious reader and enjoys fantasy, this might be the perfect time for Literary Lessons from the Lord of the Rings -- a full-year study of the trilogy that is right at about the same level as LL8.

 

Another "side step" option that is helpful for developing analysis skills is starting by analyzing movies and discussing/writing about them with the program Movies As Literature. Also right about the same level as LL8 in the analysis department.

 

Or, if an online class is of interest, I've heard good things about the Center for Lit. classes. They also offer optional writing sections to go with the lit. The gr. 7-9 class will be covering a wide mix of works -- the spring semester courses are definitely high school level:

fall: Call it Courage; The Bronze Bow; Carry On Mr. Bowditch; A Wrinkle in Time

spring: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight; Great Expectations; Julius Caesar; The Yearling; The Chosen

 

Windows to the World is definitely a step up from LL8, but no greater of a step than Excellence in Literature, and it has a lot more hand-holding than what I see in the samples of Excellence in Literature. WttW teaches annotation; how to use your annotations as support in a literary analysis essay; step-by-step instruction of how to write a literary analysis; and then covers 8-10 of the most frequently used literary elements. The program focuses on just 6 short stories (included) in a 1-semester high school program, but if doing it in 8th grade, you could spread it out over the course of 1 year and do other reading. Or, you could get the Jill Pike syllabus which extends the program for a second semester and also covers the Teaching the Classics program and instruction in covering 3 longer works: Jane Eyre, Hamlet, and To Kill a Mockingbird.

 

Since you are a strong reading family, you might consider doing WttW, spread out over the year, along with Literary Lessons from the Lord of the Rings. Or, DIY, with a stack of free-reading books and choose 6 novels to focus deeply on, using individual lit. guides, like the free Glencoe Literature Library Guides, Penguin Teacher Guides, or the for-a-fee Garlic Press Discovering Literature: challenger level.

 

And, while this would only cover part of your Literature studies, I keep hearing great things about CAP's Art of Poetry, which is both poetry appreciation and beginning analysis. For grades 7-12. It comes with a DVD of lecture material, too. :) This might be the kind of program you could stretch out over 2 years as occasional poetry units, while creating your own Lit. studies.

 

 

 

Windows to the World is a great next step up from LL8, covering both literary analysis and writing (specifically, the literary analysis essay), and it is the clearest step-by-step instruction in how to write a literary analysis essay that I've seen. It is written by Leisha Myers. (She also has two high school writing programs on specific writing topics: The Elegant Essay, and Writing Research Papers: The Essential Tools.)

 

For a student just moving into high school types of writing (which is the level of literary analysis essays), you might look at Sharon Watson's Power in Your Hands (gr. 9-12) -- written to the student, a 1-year program on writing a wide variety of types of writing (research paper, different types of essays, "real life" writing, etc.), and it is gentle enough for a grade 8 student who is already proficient with complete paragraphs and short (3- to 5-paragraph) writing assignments.

 

Lori--Thank you so much for your feedback. I agree with so much of what you said!

 

I do NOT want to make every work a literary analysis! In high school, that killed any book that I might have enjoyed, and I don't want to do that to him!  Since he reads a lot and enjoys reading for pleasure, I basically want a literature program that will get us talking about some parts of the book, early analysis, etc while bringing in aspects like poetry, short stories, plays that neither of us are going to pick up and read for fun!

 

I'm not opposed to LL High School. I guess I just don't love that we'd be focusing on American literature or British literature only. That's going to come in another year or two, so I'd rather have a year where we can read different types of literature--one of the reasons I've enjoyed LL 7 & 8 because it mixes poems (which I would never introduce on my own), short stories and novels.

 

I also agree about Night! I might have leaned more toward Essentials grade 9 than grade 8 simply because of that book. It's a great book but powerfully intense especially compared to what they chose for grade 7 and grade 9. Grade 9 has The Hobbit which we're reading now in LL 8!

 

I did look at the Movies at Lit option the other day after I posted this, and I also discovered Windows to the World which does appeal to me. I did look at the option with the Jill Pike syllabus. Seems like a decent option. He's read To Kill a Mockingbird AND will read it again this spring with LL8, but that's not a dealbreaker for me if we could sub something else here. 

 

I considered the Literary Lessons from Lord of the Rings but it just seems so tiresome to spend an entire year on that. It doesn't help that I completely dislike the books. (I know. Gasp. Horror)

 

Thank you for the writing suggestion and the poetry! I'll take a look at those as well.

 

I don't want an online class yet...maybe in a few years! The biggest problem is that we are moving to a new state and leaving a co-op teacher who is essentially you--a wonderful teacher who intertwines poetry and short stories with great novels of varying lengths and difficulty, great discussions, writing, and an overall creative outlet! We were unable to take her class this year; if we were staying here, we would do that for sure, but instead, I'm trying to recreate her class, I think! 

 

Thank you again!

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Thank you. I don't think ds is proficient at writing literary analysis, so maybe this isn't a good fit at all. I think he's started this but not delved into too deeply yet. Hmm...

 

What is EE? 

 

 

I used EIL for two years with each of my kids and I loved it. They were not proficient in writing lit analysis papers either. While EIL doesn't give direct instruction, the prompts are pretty clear and there are sample papers. Neither of my kids needed Windows or any other separate lit analysis or writing program in order to produce the essays EIL required. 

 

Ds used EIL his sophomore and junior years then took AP English at PA Homeschoolers his senior year. As you can see in my sig, he is an English and Writing double major in college now and has never complained that his high school background didn't prepare him.

 

Dd used EIL her freshman year, then did a BlueTent class (wish we'd have just done another year of EIL), then did a DE comp class over the summer to grab an extra English credit and ended with Write at Home for a light comp class her junior year (she graduated early). She's a nursing major, but EIL was probably her favorite year of high school English. 

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I used EIL for two years with each of my kids and I loved it. They were not proficient in writing lit analysis papers either. While EIL doesn't give direct instruction, the prompts are pretty clear and there are sample papers. Neither of my kids needed Windows or any other separate lit analysis or writing program in order to produce the essays EIL required. 

 

Ds used EIL his sophomore and junior years then took AP English at PA Homeschoolers his senior year. As you can see in my sig, he is an English and Writing double major in college now and has never complained that his high school background didn't prepare him.

 

Dd used EIL her freshman year, then did a BlueTent class (wish we'd have just done another year of EIL), then did a DE comp class over the summer to grab an extra English credit and ended with Write at Home for a light comp class her junior year (she graduated early). She's a nursing major, but EIL was probably her favorite year of high school English. 

 

EIL being Excellence in Literature in this case? They both have the same letters!

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The biggest problem is that we are moving to a new state and leaving a co-op teacher who is essentially you--a wonderful teacher who intertwines poetry and short stories with great novels of varying lengths and difficulty, great discussions, writing, and an overall creative outlet! We were unable to take her class this year; if we were staying here, we would do that for sure...

 

Ug. SO tough! But glad you had a terrific in-person option for a few years! :) Maybe you will discover a new co-op and teacher in your new location. :)

 

 

I considered the Literary Lessons from Lord of the Rings but it just seems so tiresome to spend an entire year on that. It doesn't help that I completely dislike the books. (I know. Gasp. Horror)

 

lol. In case it helps, LLftLotR can be done pretty much solo by the student. And you could condense and do it in 1 semester. Also, you might find these audio lectures on LotR and Tolkien might help give you added appreciation for the trilogy -- either Peter Kreeft's "Christian themes in The Lord of the Rings", and, "Beauty and Language". (Here are more topics by Peter Kreeft.) Or this series of audio lectures by Corey Olsen at Mythgard (which also has great audio lectures on other books/authors, as well). 

 

 

Also thought of another possibility. Sharon Watson, author of the writing programs Jump In (gr. 5-8) and Power in Your Hands (gr. 9-12), is putting out high school lit. programs called Illuminating Literature. She has 2 out so far:

- Characters in Conflict

- When Worlds Collide

 

Good luck! :)

Edited by Lori D.
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For a student just moving into high school types of writing (which is the level of literary analysis essays), you might look at Sharon Watson's Power in Your Hands (gr. 9-12) -- written to the student, a 1-year program on writing a wide variety of types of writing (research paper, different types of essays, "real life" writing, etc.), and it is gentle enough for a grade 8 student who is already proficient with complete paragraphs and short (3- to 5-paragraph) writing assignments.

 

Lori--Do you have any experience or opinion on her Illuminating Literature series? I'm looking at her writing now, but I had Illuminating Literature on my list to check out as well. i can't seem to find much about it.

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Ug. SO tough! But glad you had a terrific in-person option for a few years! :) Maybe you will discover a new co-op and teacher in your new location. :)

 

 

 

lol. In case it helps, LLftLotR can be done pretty much solo by the student. And you could condense and do it in 1 semester. Also, you might find these audio lectures on LotR and Tolkien might help give you added appreciation for the trilogy -- either Peter Kreeft's "Christian themes in The Lord of the Rings", and, "Beauty and Language". (Here are more topics by Peter Kreeft.) Or this series of audio lectures by Corey Olsen at Mythgard (which also has great audio lectures on other books/authors, as well). 

 

 

Also thought of another possibility. Sharon Watson, author of the writing programs Jump In (gr. 5-8) and Power in Your Hands (gr. 9-12), is putting out high school lit. programs called Illuminating Literature. She has 2 out so far:

- Characters in Conflict

- When Worlds Collide

 

Good luck! :)

 

Thank you again, Lori! Ironically I had just posted to see if you had any experience with Sharon Watson's Illuminating Literature! ha ha! I really like the look of this one--especially When Worlds Collide--and might be a nice intro into next year as well. 

 

Thanks for those thoughts of LL from LotR. Maybe I'll give it another go. ;) 

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EIL being Excellence in Literature in this case? They both have the same letters!

 

Oops - yes. I was talking about Excellence in Literature. It has always been EIL here on the boards, but I've never seen a discussing of Essentials in Lit. or one that contained both. Sorry I missed it and hope it didn't cause confusion.

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Lori--Do you have any experience or opinion on her Illuminating Literature series? I'm looking at her writing now, but I had Illuminating Literature on my list to check out as well. i can't seem to find much about it.

 

No experience with her Lit. program, but her Writing programs are written in a warm, informal tone and are easy to follow and for the student to do mostly solo, and I would guess that her Lit. programs will be similar. (We used Jump In, and I have Power in Your Hands as one of many programs on my bookshelf for using bits of in my co-op classes.)

 

One thing I note is that Colliding Worlds only covers novels, so if wanting to also cover short stories, poetry, plays, etc., you will have to supplement. I also see that the the Lit. programs are for high school, and looking at the book list, the works are solid high school level. Comparing with my DSs, and with the students in my classes, I'd say that  4 of the 7 titles in Colliding Worlds would potentially be difficult for middle school/early high school, based on reading level, interest/maturity level, and ability to wrestle with complex/mature works:

- Pudd'nhead Wilson and Tale of Two Cities = jargon/accents, older vocabulary, complex sentence structure

- Fahrenheit 451 = HUGE number of allusions, and students either seem to like or hate Bradbury's unique writing style

- Screwtape Letters = a number of complex and subtle/mature ideas at work here that can easily go right past a younger reader

 

 

... Thanks for those thoughts of LL from LotR. Maybe I'll give it another go. ;)

 

Don't feel you have to consider it, if you dislike the books. ;) Just wanted to let you know that if your DS liked the books, or liked the idea of going over those books, the program can be largely done without YOU, lol. ;)

 

 

re: Excellence in Literature

Also, while I don't have personal experience with it, the 1st program in the Excellence in Literature series (Intro to Literature), can be done by 8th graders who are average to strong readers and writers. I know I've read of a number of people on these boards who have successful used it with their 8th graders. And remember: you can always adapt and pick and choose among the writing assignments, rather than try to do all of them, to keep it at DS's speed. :) Same with the reading -- if it's moving too fast, just drop or postpone a unit or two.

 
Warmest regards, Lori D.
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No experience with her Lit. program, but her Writing programs are written in a warm, informal tone and are easy to follow and for the student to do mostly solo, and I would guess that her Lit. programs will be similar. (We used Jump In, and I have Power in Your Hands as one of many programs on my bookshelf for using bits of in my co-op classes.)

 

One thing I note is that Colliding Worlds only covers novels, so if wanting to also cover short stories, poetry, plays, etc., you will have to supplement. I also see that the the Lit. programs are for high school, and looking at the book list, the works are solid high school level. Comparing with my DSs, and with the students in my classes, I'd say that  4 of the 7 titles in Colliding Worlds would potentially be difficult for middle school/early high school, based on reading level, interest/maturity level, and ability to wrestle with complex/mature works:

- Pudd'nhead Wilson and Tale of Two Cities = jargon/accents, older vocabulary, complex sentence structure

- Fahrenheit 451 = HUGE number of allusions, and students either seem to like or hate Bradbury's unique writing style

- Screwtape Letters = a number of complex and subtle/mature ideas at work here that can easily go right past a younger reader

 

 

 

Don't feel you have to consider it, if you dislike the books. ;) Just wanted to let you know that if your DS liked the books, or liked the idea of going over those books, the program can be largely done without YOU, lol. ;)

 

 

re: Excellence in Literature

Also, while I don't have personal experience with it, the 1st program in the Excellence in Literature series (Intro to Literature), can be done by 8th graders who are average to strong readers and writers. I know I've read of a number of people on these boards who have successful used it with their 8th graders. And remember: you can always adapt and pick and choose among the writing assignments, rather than try to do all of them, to keep it at DS's speed. :) Same with the reading -- if it's moving too fast, just drop or postpone a unit or two.

 
Warmest regards, Lori D.

 

 

Thanks again, Lori. I do think Tale of Two Cities is a harder work, so that's one we would take more time with, I think, and do some discussion. He did an intensive study on the French Revolution this year, so at least the time period would be more familiar. DS read Farenheit 451 this year, and he's read several other Twain books but not this one. Honestly, I'm not very familiar with Screwtape Letters, but I really appreciate your thoughts on these. 

 

That's a good point with needing short stories, poetry, etc as well. I do have the huge Stories and Poems book that goes along with Lightning Lit that I could probably utilize for some of that, too. Great idea to drop/postpone a unit or two as well. As logical as that seems, it didn't occur to me! ha ha!

 

I haven't ruled out anything at this point although I think Essentials is probably out of the running. We are fortunate enough to have a local homeschool store, so I'm going to go and see if they have any of these that I can peruse!

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Oops - yes. I was talking about Excellence in Literature. It has always been EIL here on the boards, but I've never seen a discussing of Essentials in Lit. or one that contained both. Sorry I missed it and hope it didn't cause confusion.

 

Thanks! I assumed from your references to writing that you meant Excellence in Literature! Essentials is a newer program, and I've never seen it discussed together either!

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I do think Tale of Two Cities is a harder work, so that's one we would take more time with, I think, and do some discussion. He did an intensive study on the French Revolution this year, so at least the time period would be more familiar...

 

Having the historical background will help for sure. :) The first 6-8 chapters are just tough, and I found that doing them aloud together and stopping to answer questions about "just what the hector is happening here" made the rest of the novel go much more smoothly. Sometimes that's all it takes, is investing more involved time at the start. :)

 

 

...DS read Farenheit 451 this year, and he's read several other Twain books but not this one...

 

Sounds like your DS will be fine then! :) Having read a book previously just for pleasure/interest makes it so much easier to then do later on and be able to dig deeper into it, as you're not having to spend so much of your brain energy and time just wanting to know "what happens next" ;).

 

 

...I'm not very familiar with Screwtape Letters...

 

We greatly enjoyed Lewis' apologetics-influenced works (Screwtape Letters and The Great Divorce), but DSs were in mid/late high school years, and we did them aloud together and discussed as part of our theology/Bible study time, rather than as Literature, so it would be interesting to see how Colliding Worlds handles it as Lit. :)

 

 

... Great idea to drop/postpone a unit or two as well. As logical as that seems, it didn't occur to me! ha ha!

 

Even though we're all homeschoolers here, and we are used to adapting for special needs or acceleration, or learning style, etc. -- we all sometimes forget we're allowed to adapt this way, too -- make the program fit our student's speed and our school schedule.  :laugh:

 

Have fun in your Lit. studies, whatever you decide on! Warmest regards, Lori D.

Edited by Lori D.
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